even today. she was a woman who was way ahead of her time. she was a woman who was very important in the 20th century, but her ideas in the 21st century still ring loud today. and now on american artifacts, we continue our visit to hyde park new york with a tour of president franklin d roosevelt's top cottage. it was his private retreat during his second term as a place to relax and entertain special guests. this is about 11 minutes. >> i think fdr used this place as a place to bring these world leaders out and have them let their guard down, have them

really focus on the major issues that they are here to talk about. springwood is the same way. when you walk into these buildings, you didn't come in as king or queen, prime minister, whatever your title was. coming into summaries home as a friend is much different than walking into their place of business as, say, a colleague. going into the white house with fdr and talking about major world events would be different from coming up to this secluded porch where there were no photographers waiting to take a picture of the handshake. it was a place he could be open with his guests. and showing him in his wheelchair laid it all out there. fact there showing off the that i'm not hiding anything from you, and i think his guests received that in a way that they were willing to open up and not hide anything from him.

the way they used this place facilitated some wonderful conversation. and they were able to delve into the major issues. were someere incredible solutions that may not have been possible at the white house or more formal places. this building was constructed in 1938. fdr brings an architect to the site down from the state of georgia, who is no stranger to fdr, they work together in several projects in the past. stone cottage at val kill. he knew what fdr wanted in the building. fdr had every intention of doing that. making sure that everything was going to work.

he designed is not only to be in his personal interests, but also his physical needs. in such a ways that he can use this place. was a ramp onto the porch that he would have been held up on. once he got to the building he would have entered through a sliding door, which for somebody in the wheelchair is important, because it didn't matter which side you were on. sliding -- sliding doors don't have that track on the bottom. when you entered into the building, the hallways were a little wider. all hardwood floor, no threshold between the doors. no obstacles in the way. even going into the kitchen was one of those double swarming doors, so it didn't matter which side you were on. he got to use this building more

than he could use springwood himself. he got to host his guests, which he took a lot of pride in. he loved to show this place off, he loved to be able to serve his guests. and pictures of him smiling and enjoying himself, he would have a coaster he would set up and make his guests t end toast. he buttered it himself with a flourish of his wrists. by all accounts it was the best host anybody ever had. afternoon's he probably would have offered you a martini, and you would have been very smart to say no thank you, because by all accounts his martinis were dreadful, mixed with too much vermouth, which is exactly how he loved them. as he put it, it was a place to escape the mob. the throngs of people that would

try to visit while he was president, it was a much different period back then, where the public would often come to the presidents house, trying to meet, greet, ask questions, voice opinions, and this was a place removed far enough away from springwood where he could get away from all of the activity going on down below. those are the ones we can document through photographs and diary entries and various other sources. were there others that were not documented? probably. the print isuests of norway, the princess of the netherlands, prime minister of endda, king george the six queen elizabeth from great britain. winston churchill was on this at a different time. among others.

many times when they arrived here, they are in need of help or assistance. they are willing to sit in a place far removed from their comfort zone, and i think it may have been quite refreshing for them to get away from everything happening as and to see fdr for the man that he was rather the fact that he was the president of the united states. perhaps the one people are more familiar with is the infamous hotdog picnic. the visit was a very historic visit, as it was the first time a seated british monarch had been to the united states. and that was caps off with a , that at the porch here hotdog picnic. when this place opened up to the wasic in 2001, the queen

still alive and sent some sherks to be read at the -- talked about fdr's driving. she said i was holding on for dear life. she said i thought for sure i thought -- i thought for sure i was going to die. she said he drove like a bat out of hell. she quickly exited the car. was possibly happy to make it here in one piece. when it came time to leave at the end of the day he said why don't you get back in the car and we will go back down the hill and she said, not with you. once thatst her life day, wasn't ready to do it a second time. so she ran -- she wrote down with one of his secret service details. i'm sure he had a wonderful

story to tell from them, probably embellished it over the years, the day the queen would not ride with him. the results treated the royals to an all-american picnic. we always hear about the hot docs that were served. more vast thanch that. salad,s, mixed green strawberry shortcake for dessert. but it was the hot docs that really stole the show. and they were premium hot docs. i don't believe the queen had ever seen a hotdog before. she asked fdr what they were. fdr said, it's a hotdog. she said, how would i eat such a thing? yourys you take one in hands, put it in your mouth, and you push and you choose. a very descriptive way to teach summary how to eat a hot dog but she did not have one. and the king back that the king enjoyed his.

many in the press was deemed as a social visit. at the middle of june 1939. this is 2.5 months before symptom of first and the invasion of poland, the beginning of world war ii. and they were sent over by neville chamberlain to make sure that the united states would continue to be allies with the british. this was a very important visit. but i think it lends itself to involvementearliest of the united states into the war effort at that time. winston churchill was here four different times. 20 1942 is probably the most important visit. fdr and harry hopkins are down in fdr's study in springwood.

they were talking about the british comic program. the research was taking place in london, which was rather difficult at the time with the constant bombarding of the city. they weren't making the progress that they were hoping to. that thecoming down germans were close to developing an atomic weapon. churchill was asking fdr to bring the program and a scientist over to the united states, and fdr agrees to that. we know they are discussing this down at springwood. and through diary entries of that day, she sets the move -- she talksood appear

about the visit that occurred at 4:00 this afternoon at top cottage. said -- like they had the weight of the world on their shoulders. we'll waited for them to speak. we may never know the exact words that were set up here. time -- any any place to have a conversation of that magnitude, this was the place to do it. this was a place to keep a secret. this was a place where you are dealing with the stresses of the presidency and everything going on in washington. the only president who has gone through two major events, the great depression and world war ii, and i think the stresses of the presidency were pretty hard on him.

i think sitting up here, as quiet and peaceful as this place , it was a chance to recharge the batteries. >> next saturday, american history tv takes you live to the museum of the bible in washington dc for symposium on the bible and its influence on the founding of america. historians explore references to the bible in 18th-century political discourse entering the american revolution, and examine benjamin franklin's much debated faith. our coverage begins at 9 a.m. eastern on february 10. >> our cox communications cables partners worked with c-span cities tour staff when we travel to fayetteville, arkansas.